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At the Central Huron council meeting on September 15, just two days after the fatal shooting occurred near the Hullett Wildlife Conservation Area north of Clinton, Mayor Jim Ginn took time to comment on the incident and current investigation.

He began his comments by sending his condolences to the family of the man who lost his life, Donato Frigo of Caledon East, Ontario.

Ginn then explained how he has talked to roughly 40 national and local media outlets since the tragedy and how OPP officers from all across Ontario have been using the Central Huron Fire Department.

Most of the mayor’s comments, however, related to the concerns that local citizens have been voicing and the confusion surrounding some of the events that immediately followed the shooting.

Ginn attributed the confusion to social media and stated that “social media has changed things substantially.” While the mayor did say that the police have done a great job so far, he also said that he is “not sure whether they’re dealing with social media as effectively as they could.”

Coun. Alex Westerhout then pointed out how there have been “tons of rumors” particularly about whether or not people were in fact asked to leave their homes. Ginn responded by saying that, according to the OPP, no one had actually been asked to leave their residence.

Coun. Brian Barnim then commented on the town’s emergency alert siren and asked whether or not it actually sounded on Saturday. Chief Administrative Office, Peggy Van Mierlo-West, responded by stating that the noise that people heard was in fact the sirens of cruisers.

Barnim also commented on the overall lack of information that citizens received from the OPP. Ginn responded by giving his opinion on the issue and said that he’s sure that, had there been danger to the public, the police would have been more in touch with the public. The mayor also described how the recent shooting episode has reminded people of the 2007 Jesse Imeson case and why, for this reason, people have been particularly concerned. As he said, had the shooting incident been a case like the Imeson case, we would have likely received more information.

Mayor Ginn concluded the discussion by stating that “the time to deal with this is after the investigation” and noted that right now the OPP should be focusing on investigating the matter.

CTV Kitchener was also present at Monday’s council meeting videotaping the discussions.